Hi once again, fellow picker.

I missed out on last week’s lesson, sorry about that. I had a bunch of gigs on and just couldn’t find the hours required. I did manage this week, however.

Kirk’s Weekly Guitar Lesson

I’ve done a finger-picking, as opposed to finger-style, lesson for you … a very neat pattern that you can use for many tunes. It’s the kind of thing Bob Dylan played way back when, and I’ve used a chord progression similar to one of his tunes, in fact you should be able to warble ‘Don’t think Twice’ over it without going wrong.

That can be found here.

Guitar for Beginners and Beyond is growing in leaps and bounds. The community is close to 19,000 strong now, and we’re very lucky to have Tekker and Fretsource on board now with their own lesson forums. Both are very theory-savvy and have a great way with words, sticking to the plain English explanations for the workings of music that I have used over the years. The big difference is that they are experts on theory, I merely dabble. Check them out! Tekker’s Lessons | Fretsource’s Lessons.

PlaneTalk – The Truly Totally Different Guitar Instruction Book/DVD

My book/DVD PlaneTalk continues to clear the cobwebs away for twangers who have hit the wall. Here’s what a newcomer to the private PlaneTalkers’ Forum wrote me yesterday after reading the book and watching the DVD:

“Some folks are born teachers/explainers Kirk.You are one of those rare talents who not only cared enough to share but found a way to demystify and unpuzzle the fretboard … I have always been able to hear melodies and self-created music in my head. I have never been able to instantaneously transpose those thoughts through my fingers on the keyboard. I was able to do that this morning … I actually started packing away shelves of (other) guitar books this weekend. My wife sends her thanks.”

PlaneTalk was written for the many players out there who have all the raw ingredients down — chords, scales, modes — and who are now delving into the world of improvisation … and finding that there’s still something missing; finding that they can’t for the life of them bring it all together on the fretboard — the whole fretboard — and turn it into music. There is a ‘trick’, a simple mind-set has opened the door for thousands of players, one that has allowed them to forget all about scales and modes and ‘boxes’ and finally see melody.

Check it out at the PlaneTalk site …

Slide Guitar in Standard / Dropped D Tunings

No, you don’t have to tune your guitar to an open tuning to play slide, you can just remain in standard. The 70 minute DVD demonstrating the art is now finished and available from Bottle Neck Guitar dot Com. I’ve been playing slide like that since 1969, so I do have a few tricks up my sleeve that I divulge on the DVD. You can certainly spice up your sound by intermingling slide notes with normal playing, and in Standard Tuning, you don’t need to relearn the layout of your fretboard. This product is also backed up with a private forum where you can ask me and other sliders all the questions you have.

Here’s a streaming sample of my resonator playing to a familiar blues progression in Dropped-D tuning for your listening pleasure. Naturally, because I’m in ‘almost standard’ tuning, I’m using the PlaneTalk mindset to navigate the fretboard. Not once did I think ‘scale’, ‘mode’ or ‘pentatonic box’ … I was simply following the chords a la PlaneTalk.

Upcoming gigs

For any Brisbane, Australia, readers: I’ve got a couple of interesting gigs coming up.

The first is at the Noosa Jazz and Blues Festival, September 2nd. I’ll be playing with Barry Charles, an incredible singer and player, along with Gus Fenwick on bass; Ric Halstead on sax; Chris Bishop on drums.

The next is the Bucca Blues Festival just outside Bundaberg, September 16th, where I’ll be doing a two hour set as the ‘Kirk Lorange Blues Band’ with the lineup from The Smokin’ Crawdads, the band I often sit in with. Should be a great night too!

Drop me a line if you want more details.

Over and out, all the best until next week!

Kirk
http://www.kirklorange.com